Bogus Naturopath (Laurence Perry)
Convicted of Manslaughter

Stephen Barrett, M.D.

On April 15, 2002, Laurence G. Perry was convicted of involuntary
manslaughter and practicing medicine without a license in North
Carolina and sentenced to 12-15 months in jail [1]. Perry was
accused of improperly regulating the insulin dosage of a diabetic
child who died as a result in 1999. The child's mother testified
that Perry had said that the girl was was not a true diabetic,
was addicted to insulin, and should stop taking it, even though
she was getting sicker as the dosage decreased [2]. The case illustrates
what can happen when our society permits individuals with bogus
credentials to practice as health professionals.

Dubious Credentials

When the case surfaced, the local sheriff sent me copies of
credentials and other documents in which Perry described his alleged
education and training. Perry acquired most of them during the
1980s in connection with a "paper conglomerate" of phony
health-related credentials that was launched in Indiana in 1983
as the American
Nutritional Medical Association (ANMA) [3] A few others were
obtained independently. Perry's "VITA" states that he
was born in Chicago on June 7, 1953, graduated from Austin High
School in Decatur, Alabama in 1972, and obtained an associate
(2-year) degree from John C. Calhoun State Community College in
1978 [4]. His subsequent experiences and "credentials" included
the following:

Sherman College of Chiropractic, Spartanburg, SC, 1978-81. [He apparently did not graduate.]

"Certification to practice the
science and art of nutritional medicine according to the regulations
of the A.M.N.A. and the laws of the State of South Carolina,"
1984. [Another bogus ANMA credential]

Professional member, ANMA, 1987.

Certificate of Excellence: Iridology,
Nutrition, Wholistic Healing, Bernard Jensen, clinical nutritionist. [Iridologyis a pseudoscience based on the notion that
virtually all illnesses can be diagnosed by examining the colored
portion of the eye that surrounds the pupil. Jensen was a nutritionist
only in his own mind.]

Doctor of Medicine (eclectic/homeopathic)
degree, British West Indies Medical College. [A
nonexistent Caribbean school created by Gregory Caplinger. Perry's
transcript states that he matriculated on 3/20/86 and graduated
one year later after completing 5 "terms" of classes
totaling 540 hours of course work, 6 clinical rotations totaling
2000 hours, 3 dissertations (760 hours), 2 research papers, and
an oral examination, all presumably while functioning as "Director
of the Nutrition, Education and Research Center in Spartanburg,
SC." However, Perry's "VITA" document states that
his degree involved "1500 study hours."]

Subsequent Activities

In 2007, I received a credible e-mail report that Perry was seeing patients in Decator, Alabama and accepting "donations" as payment. Subsequent Web site postings indicate that he practiced in Atlanta for several years under the name Natural Modern Health and relocated to Hendersonville, North Carolina in 2013 [5].